College Football Nation: Nick Saban Believes He IS College Football and the Big 12 is Eyeing More

Sometimes you have to just love the off-season, where the media tries to turn any little quote into a major breaking story. You have to be glad for that, since there is no actual football being played. Just ask Coach Nick Saban at the University of Alabama.

As this off-season progresses I will slowly try to change my format for you — the reader. Maybe I will be able to give a little more insight on the action and go over a few more things going on in college football.

The big story from this week is Alabama’s running back, Derrick Henry, pictured in front of his brand new ride. People are screaming violations since it is too nice of a car for a player with absolutely no income. Really?!?! That is Alabama and SEC football, where they think to themselves — “When someone can play this well as a freshmen, why can’t we get them whatever they want!” I am just surprised it is not a big red Hummer with a giant Alabama logo on the hood.

Then the media took after Pat White, former West Virginia QB, when he was quoted as saying he was also offered a brand new car if he came to Alabama — a Corvette, no less. When Coach Saban was asked about this, he was quoted as saying, “I didn’t even know it happened so I can’t comment on it,” then more. Priceless!

-We just had the footage released from the Jameis Winston Crab heist. They say in the footage he was walking around for a bit with the crab legs waiting for the ‘all clear.’ I will let you be the judge from this video. Me thinks he was pulling another “QB sneak”.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly wants ND to keep scheduling Michigan and MSU. Of course he comes out and says this after the damage has already been done and the series is taking a break. We need more coaches to be vocal about keeping rivalries alive through all of this conference expansionism. I think no one noticed this outside the two schools, but maybe no more so than Kansas vs Missouri — thanks to the conference realignment. We need rivalries like that one, along with Notre Dame vs “the” Michigans. Those games are what makes college football that much better.

To top it all off, they are comparing who has the best uniform changes for the upcoming season. As Oregon fans you can rest easy because, of course … the new Duck uniforms are No. 1 still. I am interested to see how Miami’s look will be on the field this year, once kickoff gets here.

Our feel good story comes out of Boise, Idaho, this week. After word got out about how incoming player, Antoine Turner was homeless, the NCAA allowed Boise State to step in and help out. With all the heat the NCAA has been taking lately, here is one bright spot for them. I am sure everything will come crumbling down again next week for them.

My last rant for the day is about the Big 12 adding a conference championship game. It would be nice for the Big 12 to actually have 12 teams again and hold a title game. They seem set in their ways of having only 10 teams and no actual title game but come on … just get two more schools and get back to normal. The Big 12 should take BYU and Cincinnati. They took West Virginia and they are FOREVER so far away … so just pull the trigger on those other two schools and quit being crazy about the whole thing.

So there you have it — some of the news from this past week of college football. I do imagine things will start picking up in the next month or two when summer break ends and the players are “officially” back on campus preping for fall camp. Who knows, we might get lucky and Jameis Winston will try to go back to his crab shack for seconds. If that doesn’t happen, you can watch these highlights from the SEC 2013 title game. It is all about the offense from this game!

Jeff Hostetler may not have won a Super Bowl with the Giants ( though his uncle of the same name did). He has been an obsessed college football fan living in Florida ever since the Gators beat FSU in the Sugar Bowl to earn the UF's first national championship.
Ever since Jeff has immersed himself in everything possible related to college football. He enjoys watching, writing, playing, and otherwise obsessing over all things football. A graduate of the University of Florida, he brings a perspective to FishDuck free of our extreme green & yellow homerism glasses to look at the current landscape of collegiate athletics.